Remote control arrangement

ABSTRACT

A stopper is provided on the inner wire of a Bowden cable type arrangement. The stopper allows the wire to be pulled in a first axial direction to operate one of two latch mechanisms and engages a shoulder defined in the second latch mechanism when driven in a second axial direction to produce a reaction which causes the tubular housing disposed about the wire between the second latch mechanism and a single handled actuating mechanism, to flex and pull a lever of the second latch mechanism for operating same, whereby a single lever can be used to selectively operate two different mechanisms. .Iadd.

This is a Reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,597, issued Feb. 22, 1983..Iaddend.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to remote control arrangementsfor opening vehicular truck lids, fuel filler covers and the like andmore specifically to an arrangement wherein a single lever is used toselectively open two different lid members such as a trunk lid and fuelfiller lid or cover.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In a known arrangement the remote control of a latch mechanism of atrunk lid or the like has been operated by a lever mechanism and Bowdencable. However, in the case in which it is desired to selectively openmore than one lid from the cabin of the vehicle by way of example, ithas been necessary to privide a lever and cable arrangement for each ofthe lids. This of course has led to an undesirable duplication of leversand cables and added to weight, complexity and cost of the vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention features an actuating mechanism having a singlelever and a Bowden cable arrangement leading therefrom to two latchmechanisms. Movement of the single lever in a first direction from itsneutral position pulls the inner wire of the cable arrangement towardthe actuating mechanism to operate the first of two latch mechanisms. Astopper is provided on the wire and arranged to abut a stationary memberof the second of two latch mechanisms upon the lever's being moved fromneutral in a second direction opposite the first. The abutment induces areaction which causes the outer housing of the cable arrangementsurrounding that portion of the wire extending between the levermechanism and the second of the latch mechanisms to flex and pull alever attached to the end of said outer housing adjacent the stopper tooperate the second latch mechanism.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the arrangement of the present inventionwill become more clearly appreciated from the following descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which likereference numerals denote corresponding elements, and in which

FIG. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a part of the arrangement shownin FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an alternative lever arrangement which maybe used in place of that shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Turning now to the drawings and more specifically to FIG. 1, a firstembodiment of the present invention is shown. In FIG. 1 the numeral 10denotes an actuating mechanism having a single lever 13, while 11 and 12denote first and second latch mechanisms, respectively. The lever 13 ofthe actuating mechanism 10 is operatively connected to an inner wire 14of a Bowden cable arrangement 16 interconnecting the actuating mechanism10 and the first and second latch mechanisms 11 and 12 and is biased bya spring 15 toward a neutral position N. As shown in FIG. 1 the innerwire 14 extends continuously from the actuating mechanism to a detentlever 18 of the first latch mechanism 11. This lever is pivotallymounted on a base plate 20 which in turn is fixed to the chassis or thelike of a vehicle (by way of example). A spring 22 interconnects thedetent lever 18 with the base plate 20 in a manner to cause the lever torotate in a direction to engage a locking bar 24 fixedly secured to afirst lid 26 which closes a storage compartment or the like (not shown).The inner wire 14 is formed with a bead 28 on the end which seats in asuitable aperture 30 formed in the lever 18. With this arrangement, uponclosure of the lid 26 to detent lever 18 will be slightly rotated in theclockwise direction (as seen in FIG. 1). However, this will notinfluence the inner wire 14 due to the effective lost motion connectionestablished between the inner wire 14 and the detent lever 18 throughthe bead 28 and aperture 30.

When the lever 13 is rotated in the direction indicated by arrow A, theinner wire 14 will be pulled in the direction of the actuating mechanismand will accordingly induce the detent lever 18 to rotate in theclockwise direction to release the connection between said lever and thelocking bar 24, thus unlocking the lid 26.

FIG. 2 shows in detail part of the second latch mechanism 12. In thismechanism the numeral 32 denotes a base plate which is fixed to thechassis of the vehicle or the like, and on which a lever 34 is pivotallymounted. One end of the lever 34 is operatively connected to one end ofthe outer housing 36 which surrounds that part of the inner wire 14extending between the actuating mechanism 10 and the second latchmechanism 12 through a re-inforcement end member 38. The other end ofthe lever 34 is provided with a slot 40 which slidably receives the endof the link 42 which extends between the lever 34 and a detent pin 44(see FIG. 1). The pin 44 is biased by a spring 46 to extend toward andengage a flange member 48 of a second lid 50 of the vehicle. It willalso be understood that the slot 40 cooperating with the link 42 definesa lost motion connection which allows the second lid 50 to be closed anddisplace the detent pin 44 against the bias of the spring 46 withoutinfluencing the lever 34 or the outer housing 36.

FIG. 2 shows in section a tubular member 52 formed with a stepped bore54. The member 52 is fixedly connected to the base plate 32 and servesto mount one end of a second outer housing 56 which extends between thefirst and second latch mechanisms 11 and 12. The other end of the secondouter housing 56 is fixedly connected to the base plate 20 of the firstlatch mechanism (see FIG. 1).

A stopper 58 is fixed onto the inner wire 14 by welding, brazing,soldering or the like. The stopper is dimensioned to be slidable withinthe larger portion of the stepped bore and to abut a shoulder 60 definedin the stepped bore. Thus, when the lever 13 is moved in the directionindicated by arrow B (see FIG. 1), the stopper is moved into abutmentwith the shoulder so that further travel of the inner wire 14 away fromthe actuating mechanism 10 is limited. Further movement of the lever 13in the B direction induces a reaction which causes the portion of theinner wire between the actuating mechanism 10 and the second latchmechanism 12, and subsequently the outer housing 36 surrounding saidportion of the wire, to flex. The flexure of the outer housing allowsthe inner wire to be inserted further into the outer housing by themovement of the lever 13 so that the distance between the stopper 58 andthe reinforcing end member 38 which is fixed to the end of the housing36, increases with the result that the lever 34 is pulled by the outerhousing 36 and rotates in the anticlockwise direction, retracting thedetent pin 44 from its securing position via the linkage connectiontherebetween, which unlocks the lid 50.

If required, a bracket or brackets 61 may be used to slidably supportthe outer housing 36 and/or 56 at locations intermediate of theactuating mechanism and first and second latch mechanisms 11 and 12.

Thus in summary, the stopper 58 allows the movement of the inner wire ina direction which allows the release of the first latch mechanism butresists movement in the opposite direction to induce a reaction whichcauses it and the outer housing member surrounding same to flex andaccordingly induce the outer housing the pull a lever of the secondlatch mechanism to release same. In other words, when the lever is urgedin the A direction, the wire is pulled with respect to the outer housing(which remains axially stationary) to operate the first latch mechanism11 in the conventional manner. When the lever is urged in the Bdirection, the roles of the wire and outer housing are reversed and theouter housing is pulled with respect to the cable (which is held axiallystationary by the stopper 58 engaging the shoulder 60) to operate thesecond latch mechanism 12, independently of the first latch mechanism.This unique arrangement allows two latch mechanisms to be individuallyor selectively released by the movement of a lever of an actuatingmechanism in first or second directions.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative actuating mechanism 62 which can be usedwith the Bowden cable arrangement 16 of the present invention. In thisarrangement, the lever 13 is formed with a slidable member 64 whichslides in a bore or the like 66. The bore 66 is formed with indents 68in which a spring loaded detent ball 70 carried in the slidable memberis seatable. The slidable member 64 is further formed with a slot forreceiving a bead carried on the end of the inner wire 14. As shown, theinner wire 14 extends from the slidable member into the outer housing36, which is fixed securely to the base member 72 in which the bore 66is formed. The bore is slotted to allow the lever 13 to be slid back andforth from the neutral position N in the directions A and B foroperating the first and second latch mechanisms. The indents 68 are eachformed to correspond to the neutral position, first latch mechanismrelease position and the second latch mechanism release position. Thisarrangement of course features simple construction and assembly.

What is claimed is:
 1. A remote control arrangement comprising:a first mechanism having a stationary member and a movable member for actuating said first mechanism; a second mechanism having a stationary member and a movable member for actuating said second mechanism; a wire connected at one end to the movable member of said first mechanism and which is slidably disposed through the stationary member of said second mechanism; an actuating mechanism having a stationary member and a lever, said lever being operatively connected to the other end of said wire for selectively moving said wire in first and second axial directions, the movable member of said first mechanism being moved to operate said first mechanism upon said wire being moved in said first axial direction; a first flexible housing disposed about said wire, said first houring being connected at one end to the stationary member of said actuating mechanism and at the other end of the movable member of said second mechanism; a second flexible housing disposed about said wire, said second housing being connected at one end to the stationary member of said second mechanism and at the other end to the stationary member of said first mechanism; and a stopper fixed on said wire and adapted to abut the stationary member of said second mechanism when said wire is driven in said second axial direction.
 2. A remote control arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said first mechanism takes the form of a latch mechanism and a lid, said latch mechanism having a base which defines said stationary member and a detent lever which defines said movable member, said detent lever being pivotally mounted on said base member and biased in a direction to engage a lock bar of said lid, said wire being formed with a bead at the end thereof which seats an aperture formed in said detent lever, said aperture and said bead defining a lost motion connection which allows said detent lever to rotate in the rotational direction induced therein by the movement of said wire in said first axial direction.
 3. A remote control arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second mechanism takes the form of a second latch mechanism and a second lid which cooperates with said second latch mechanism, said second latch mechanism including a base member including means defining a stepped bore through which said wire is disposed, said stepped bore defining a shoulder against which said stopper engages when said wire is moved in said second axial direction, the engagement between said shoulder and said stopper inducing a reaction in said wire which causes said first flexible housing to flex and to pull a lever pivotally mounted on said base member, which lever defines said movable member of said second mechanism.
 4. A remote control arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuating mechanism takes the form of a base member formed with a stepped bore, a slidable member disposed in said bore, said slidable member being fixedly secured to said lever for synchronous movement therewith and operatively connected with said wire, said slidable member having a spring loaded ball which seatably engages in indents formed in said stepped bore for holding said slidable member in one of a neutral, first and second axial positions. .Iadd.
 5. A remote control arrangement comprising:a first mechanism; a second mechanism; a wire operatively connected at one end to said first mechanism and which is slidably disposed through said second mechanism; an actuating mechanism having a stationary member and a lever operatively connected to the other end of said wire for selectively moving said wire in first and second axial directions, said first mechanism being operated when said wire is moved in said first axial direction; a first flexible housing disposed about said wire between said actuating mechanism and said second mechanism, said first flexible housing being operatively connected to said second mechanism; a second flexible housing disposed about said wire between said second mechanism and said first mechanism, and a stopper fixed on said wire and adapted to abut a stationary member of said second mechanism when said wire is moved in said second axial direction, said second mechanism being operated when said wire is moved in said second axial direction. .Iaddend. .Iadd.
 6. A remote control arrangement comprising:a wire; actuating means connected to said wire for selectively moving said wire in first and second axial directions; a first mechanism operatively connected to said wire at a location remote from said actuating means, said first mechanism being operated when said wire is moved in said first axial direction; a second mechanism disposed on said wire intermediate said actuating means and said first mechanism; a flexible housing disposed about said wire, said flexible housing being operatively connected to said second mechanism, and stop means on said wire adjacent said second mechanism for preventing movement of said wire with respect to a stationary member of said second mechanism in said second axial direction; whereby manipulation of said actuating means to move said wire in said second axial direction causes a displacement of said housing which operates said second mechanism. .Iaddend. .Iadd.
 7. A remote control arrangement according to claim 6 further comprising a second flexible housing disposed on said wire between said first mechanism and said second mechanism. .Iaddend. .Iadd.8. A remote arrangement mechanism according to claim 6 wherein said first mechanism comprises a latch comprising a stationary member and a movable member. .Iaddend. .Iadd.9. A remote control arrangement according to claim 6 wherein said second mechanism comprises a latch comprising a stationary member and a movable member. .Iaddend. .Iadd.10. A remote control arrangement according to claim 9 wherein said flexible housing is connected to the movable member of said latch. .Iaddend. .Iadd.11. A remote control arrangement according to claim 9 wherein said actuating means comprises a lever pivotably mounted on a fixed support and connected to said wire. .Iaddend. .Iadd.12. A remote control arrangement according to claim 11 wherein said flexible housing is connected at one end to said support and at the other end to the movable member of said latch. .Iaddend. .Iadd.13. A remote control arrangement comprising:a single lever; a single cable comprising an inner wire and an outer housing on said wire leding from said lever to two mechanisms; said wire being attached to said lever and to one of said mechanisms such that movement of said lever in a first direction to pull said wire toward said lever operates said one mechanism; a stopper provided on said wire and arranged to abut a member of the other of said mechanisms; said housing being attached to said other mechanism such that movement of said lever in a direction opposite said first direction causes said stopper to abut said member of said other mechanism and induces a reaction which causes said housing to flex and operate said other mechanism. .Iaddend. .Iadd.14. A remote control arrangement according to claim 13 wherein said second mechanism is a latch mechanism comprising a stationary member and a movable lever, and said outer housing adjacent the stopper on said inner wire is attached to said lever. .Iaddend. 